Chapter 56: Oops

Honda Takuto slumped in the booth as his tea cooled. The cafe was quiet, few enough patrons that you could actually hear the radio playing behind the counter. Yamaha and Suzuki had both ordered cold drinks, so were already drinking. Though beverage temperature wasn't the main reason Takuto's eyes were drawn out the window, at the various people passing by.

"Everything okay, Takuto?" Suzuki asked him.

"I've almost won my race to 1000 with Mikado, against all odds, considering that a yes for a date is harder to get than a kiss," Takuto replied, staring out the window. "But... I'm stuck with that blemish on my record."

"Ah, you mean the half point for that little girl who said she wanted to marry you?" Yamaha asked, the bald lad snickering a little.

"Oh, laugh it up, Sarian," Takuto snapped. "She shouldn't have counted as anything for my talley. I said I'd pick up 1000 chicks before he managed to kiss a 1000. Weirdly romantic eight year olds aren't chicks. Getting given half a point, just because Mikado saw it and thought it was hilarious..."

"Well, look on the bright side," Suzuki offered, "after Sanezin went and kissed Saotome, he's got a half point on his record too."

"I want to be better than that idiot. And not just because he's got fake teeth now, after Saotome got to him," Takuto muttered, before taking a sip from his tea. It was still a bit hot, but bearable now.

"Speaking of Saotome, I've heard he's stuck female again," Yamaha said, grabbing a french fry from their shared plate.

"Man, that's just going to mean more confusion," Suzuki grumbled. "A babe like that should not really be a guy."

Takuto rolled his eyes, not really caring about the weird martial artist in his class.

"I know what you mean," Yamaha said, shaking his head a little. "Though, I heard from some of the volleyball team girls that, apparently the curse might actually change his brain too?"

"Really?" Suzuki said. "That might not be too bad then... basically just a tomboy then."

Takuto raised an eyebrow. "That could fix my little blemish, if I play it right."

Ranma shivered a little as she walked down the street. It had been nearly a week since she'd begun her voluntary lock, and it felt so weird sometimes. The gap between her mind and her body hit so hard at points. Then she was happy other times, feeling more free to dive into femininity at school when she wanted to.

Oh sure, the other girls were still awkward around her, but big sad eyes made most of them relax. Not Kaori and her gang, but they were jerks. She didn't really want to be friends with them.

Right now, though, was one of the times she wanted a little air. Hibari was supportive, and she loved her, but Ranma still needed her alone time. She'd grown up with a lot of space. Possibly to the point of neglect, when Genma ran off to try to scam some money or burn through what money he'd gathered on cheap saké. But, it was what she knew. So she liked a little alone time.

Aimlessly kicking a bit of concrete into a small canalized creek, she let out a sigh, wondering why she was so confusing. She... she didn't even understand herself. How was anyone else supposed to?

"Yoiko? Is, is that you? Isn't this Kitakyushu?"

Ranma turned, to see Ryoga standing near her. It took her a moment to remember she had her hair down right now, as stress relief. That was probably why he thought she was 'Yoiko' instead. Well, that or the fact she was, technically, wearing a pretty feminine outfit.

Unfortunately, she didn't feel like playing the part of an enraptured ditz right now.

"Hey," she managed.

"Is, uh, is everything ok?" Ryoga asked, walking up beside her.

There was a kindness in his voice and eyes that made her feel guilty. She closed her eyes a moment and pulled up the memories of how he'd rejected her. Called her not enough of a girl. It... roughly balanced?

"Things are messy right now, Ryoga," she muttered, sticking her hands in her skirt's pockets. "I've... I've got a big project on my hands, and... I like the subject, but it means I can't do other things I like for a while."

That was a decent metaphor, right?

Ryoga nodded. "Sounds annoying."

"You said it."

The pair walked quietly for a bit, Ranma with no destination in mind, and Ryoga used to that. After crisscrossing the canal a few times, Ryoga finally spoke up.

"Would, like, ice cream or something cheer you up?"

Ranma froze in her tracks, making Ryoga nervous for a moment. At least until she turned to him with a smile.

"Are you paying?" she asked.

"Y-yeah?"

"Then ice cream sounds delightful. I know just the place!"

With that, she grabbed his hand and dragged him along the streets of western Nerima. The ice cream parlour wasn't too far away. She wasn't popular with the staff (after a period of being a bit too popular with most of the guys and a couple of the girls), but Ryoga flashing his wallet and cash would probably mean there'd be no problem with her visiting.

Her assumption proved correct, and she was seated happily with a fudge sundae in front of her while Ryoga had two scoops of vanilla with a little chocolate sauce. It seemed like a dangerously girly choice from the fanged boy in her opinion, but... she supposed he was still a little ambiguous about being sort of gay (just denying it), so...

She decided not to think about that complicated stuff and just enjoy her ice cream. Ryoga gabbed away about his travelling, and she nudged him into talking about his training more. Nothing he was doing seemed overly useful in a fight against him, just his general weight training and getting into fights with wild animals. She suspected the latter was illegal, but... so were most of her father's training techniques, so who was she to complain?

"So, what subject is your big project in? Maybe I can help? I'm doing pretty decent at my correspondence lessons... y'know, when I get home and find the new homework." Ryoga said, changing the topic.

"Oh, uhh..." Ranma replied, her mind blanking. What was a class she was taking?

Also, what had Ryoga been bad at back during Middle School?

"Geography?" she offered. She didn't have that class, but she was pretty sure it was something you could take.

"Oh..." Ryoga replied, eyes glazing over a little. "Yeah, that's... not—not really one I can help with."

Ranma gave an innocent smile and a shrug before returning to her ice cream. Things were awkwardly quiet for a bit, and Ranma was reaching the end of her sundae. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to sneak away after that or not...

"Oh! Ranma! How are you?" a familiar voice said.

Looking up with fear in her eyes, Ranma spotted Rie before her saucer sized eyes glanced over to Ryoga. He looked like he was still processing exactly what he'd heard.

"S-sorry. Ran. Righ—er, Ranko... no?" Rie said, as Ranma grew paler and paler.

"Ran-ma?" Ryoga said, his eye twitching slightly as he began to bare his teeth.

Rie mouthed 'sorry' once more as Ranma swallowed nervously.

"No?" Ranma offered.

Ryoga began his best effort to stare a hole in the table as he began to breath slow and heavy breaths, as if he were trying to puff himself up. "I'd love to believe you... I'd like to keep pretending that you're just a girl who looks like Ranma... but I'm not... I'm not going to offer you my heart again!"

With that, Ryoga stood up, flipping the table at Ranma. A fact made more impressive due to the fact they were seated in a booth. With a built in table.

Ranma leapt onto the back of the booth before the table could hit her and made a break for the door. She didn't wanted to get tied to any more property damage than was necessary.

"Always running away! Get back here so I can kill you this time!" Ryoga shouted, chasing after her.

The pair began bounding across the rooftops of Nerima, Ryoga throwing bandanas at Ranma, which she generally dodged easily. Generally.

"I just bought this skirt!" Ranma hissed as a well aimed flurry of bandanas left her with a torn skirt and several scrapes.

"Acting like a girl isn't going to make me forgive you!" Ryoga bellowed, managing to close the distance as Ranma was distracted by checking the damage.

She dodged Ryoga's drop kick only at the last second. A melee ensued, much to the suffering of the apartment building roof they were currently on top of. Ryoga's umbrella swings left several sections collapsed before Ranma managed to make enough distance that she could start running away again.

She wanted to get to a park before things got much worse. By this point in the evening a park was unlikely to have too many bystanders. Luckily her leap from the apartment building left Ranma with a good enough vantage point to spot the nearest park, and she made a beeline for it before Ryoga could close the distance again.

Ranma managed to land on a bridge, but was left disappointed when Ryoga landed a good distance away, choosing to pepper her with more bandanas.

She was starting to wonder if Mousse had taught Ryoga the hidden weapon technique when the bridge began to collapse and she was forced to dry ground. Ryoga was on her the next moment with a flurry of kicks and punches that she struggled to dodge and block.

Ranma hated how much reach she lost as a girl. That and the irritation of how her boobs wouldn't stop wiggling (even if she tried wearing two sports bras) meant she still always preferred to fight as a guy. That wasn't an option right now, though, and she had to make do with playing on the defensive, hoping Ryoga would tire.

He did start getting sloppier, though she couldn't tell if that was from tiredness or increasing anger. Either way, it let her get some space between them more frequently.

"You're still part man, so man up and let me beat you to a snot!" Ryoga hissed.

"That's not manly. That's just dumb," Ranma countered, slipping in to get a punch to Ryoga's gut.

It didn't accomplish much of anything, but she felt a bit better about managing to get in a hit.

The pair broke apart again after the punch, circling each other. Ryoga was getting tired, at last, but so was Ranma. Neither had a good plan for how to finish up the fight, but they both wanted it to end soon. So, they kept circling, trying to plan something.

Ranma wanted to get Ryoga in the water, but knew he was smart enough to avoid that. Ryoga twirled his umbrella, sure a few good hits could bring Ranma down.

They kept circling.

Then the space in between them exploded, the shockwave sending both of them stumbling back.

"Are you two done playing?" Hibari shouted, an empty rocket launcher resting on her shoulder, and two more rockets hanging from her belt.

"We're not playing! He broke my heart again!" Ryoga shouted, pointing his umbrella over at Ranma.

"I was just trying to prove I am enough of a woman that you'd be happy dating me!" Ranma countered.

Hibari pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a sigh before pointing her free hand at Ryoga. "See!? This is why I thought that dumb secret you told me to keep was a bad idea! You should have explained what you meant to Ranma directly!"

"I didn't think he'd be stubborn enough to trick me into dating him again!" Ryoga protested.

"Well, that was also dumb of you! She's almost as stubborn as you are!" Hibari shouted.

"What was the full meaning of what he said?" Ranma asked, feeling quite confused.

Ryoga's angry red shifted to an embarrassed red as he began to fiddle with his fingers. "I, uh... that you're, uh... y'know..."

Hibari let out another sigh, this one sharper. "His issue wasn't your not being enough of a girl. It was actually about your being too much of a guy. He was only in love with you when you've got girl brain mode going. Boy's straight, but it's about minds, not bodies."

"Oh..." Ranma replied, blushing herself. "I... uh... well, I think it's fair that I got ticked at ya for that wrong explanation earlier then..."

"Maybe," Ryoga grumbled. "I think it's still fair I'm ticked at you for playing with my heart again! You're too good at that. And I still want to beat the snot out of you..."

Hibari loaded another rocket into her rocket launcher. "Do I have to use this?"

"N-no!" Ryoga yelped, opening his umbrella to shield himself. "I can pick this fight another time, when Ranma doesn't have you here to save her."

"I'm not here to save her," Hibari replied. "I'm upset with both of you."

"Both—what did I do!?" Ranma shouted.

"You cheated on me!" Hibari hissed.

"Cheated? You said you were find with bringing Ryoga into things!" Ranma countered.

"I was fine with the idea of Ryoga dating both of us! I didn't say I was fine with the idea of you sneaking off and dating Ryoga without telling me! Communication is important!" Hibar shouted.

Ranma looked at her with honest confusion. "It's... it's not the same?"

"No!?" Hibari shouted, trying to keep her cheeks from going to red and holding back the feeling that she wanted to cry.

"I was just trying to surprise you with good news," Ranma said, voice going about as soft as it could while still being heard across the park.

"That's not something you surprise someone with!" Hibari shouted, feeling tears running down.

She aimed her rocket launched at the space halfway between her and Ranma, firing it off. When the rubble and dust settled she was gone.

"H-Hibari..." Ranma muttered, stepping forward.

"Good work, Saotome," Ryoga said. "You broke two hearts today."

"And that's your fault!" Ranma hissed at Ryoga, before starting to jog off. "The next time I see you, I'm going to break something!"

"Good luck! I'll be training!" Ryoga shouted back, ignoring the gnawing feeling in his gut.

He was sure it wasn't his fault that Ranma had done all this... even if everyone else blamed him.

"Hibari, c'mon, open the door," Ranma said, knocking on Hibari's door between the two rooms. "Can we talk now?"

Ranma got only silence.

Hibari hugged her legs as she stared at the wall on the other side of Shampoo's bedroom.

"It's fair for me to be upset, right? Like, Ryoga had said no when we offered, and then we'd talked about other options, and... so... right?" she said, annoyed at the lack of clarity in her explanation, but... she was upset.

"I think it makes sense," Shampoo replied, placing her hand on Hibari's shoulder. "Besides, the heart is about emotions. Emotions are more complicated than logic."

"Thanks," Hibari said, giving Shampoo a smile.

"You're not planning to break up or anything, though, are you?" the indigo haired girl asked.

"No, no... I just want a little break. I'll probably forgive her in a couple of days," Hibari mumbled, leaning back on the bed. "She's a dweeb, but she's my dweeb and she's adorable. And, you know... it's mostly her dad's fault she so bad at communicating."

Shampoo lit up. "Good, good! I do not want to see you two break up."

She then leaned down beside Hibari, resting her head in one arm. "I still think I'm a better choice for a third... not going to push, but... if you're looking."

"If my dad and uncle panda weren't stubborn backwards idiots who'd cancel our engagement the moment someone 'properly born a girl' got involved I'd take up your offer. I know Ranma would too... but until there's a solution for that issue no old fashioned girl can get involved," Hibari replied, letting out a tired moan.

"Hmm... I have my boy side, though... that can offer certain opportunities," Shampoo said, rubbing her chin with her free hand. "Say we have a little fun, and then there's babies on the way..."

"I'm not about to become a teen mom, and... I'm pretty sure Ranma would blush until she passed out before anything actually frisky could happen. She's adorably innocent," Hibari replied.

Shampoo found herself giggling, and the pair jumped into a conversation about just how innocent Ranma was. Shampoo had quite a few stories from the boys' locker room, and Hibari had lots to share from her sleeping arrangements.

Eventually, Hibari phoned her home, informing Tsugumi that she was sleeping over at the Neko Hanten.

Ranma felt herself stewing in her desk as Hibari and Shui left off to eat lunch together. Ukyo was also side-eyeing her and had left in a different direction once lunch had started. She could only assume the chef didn't approve of her accidental infidelity either.

Grumpily, she began to dig into her lunch, barely stopping to appreciate how cute a meal Tsugumi had prepared for her. Being a Saotome, a meal lasted her barely a minute when she was in a bad mood, and she was left trying to cause Shui's desk to combust under her glare.

"Trouble in paradise?" a smooth male voice asked.

Ranma looked up, wondering who was interested in talking to her. The guy had looks to match his voice, perfect hair, stylish clothes, and a delicate sort of handsome face that was probably decent competition for her own male face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, not sure what to make of him.

"It's more about whether or not I can help you," the lad replied. "The name is Honda Takuto, and I hate seeing a cute girl looking as upset as you do. Especially one who's normally so full of joy, showing off an infectious smile."

Ranma felt her cheeks going hot. The flirting seemed so genuine, and the guy offering it knew about her. He was in her class (even if he sat behind her and she never really bothered looking back there... she'd seen him around). She... well, she wasn't used to guys who knew seeming to not care.

"There's a new arcade near here. Some friends and I were planning to go after school. Just a hang out," Honda said, his tone gentle and still as silky smooth. "I could show you some of the best games, guaranteed to get your mind off your troubles. I'd be happy to pay too. It would be worth it to see you smile again."

"That—uh... that sounds nice," Ranma said, not sure how to process that.

An invitation to hang out in a group at an arcade seemed like a guys thing to Ranma. But the offer to pay and talk about her smiles... that felt like he saw her as a girl. The two mixed together like this was confusing, and, after a little thought, something she liked.

And... Hibari had slept over at Shampoo's last night. Now they were spending so much time without her. Those two were, technically, sort of engaged, and were also definitely attracted to each other.

Maybe she was already dumped, and just hadn't realised it? Shampoo was just better at being a girl than her... and, if she was being totally honest, made a better looking guy. It was amazing Hibari hadn't chosen Shampoo months ago.

Hanging out also wasn't a date. She could like a guy flirting without returning it, no?

"The arcade sounds nice," Ranma replied, with an attempt at a smile. "Thanks."

"Meet me by the gym after school, then. That's where my friends and I tend to rendezvous."

The short haired brunette walked down the halls of Wakaba High School, shaking her head as she was leaving for the day. As a member of the volleyball team, she'd thought Ranma and Hibari had been so cute together, but, hearing that Ranma had apparently been cheating behind Hibari's back... and with a guy as a girl. She shook her head again.

"I still can't believe the chance to fix his record came up so fast," a bald lad said to his curly haired friend.

She recognized him as one of the more popular guys in the school. Not that she paid any of the guys all that much attention, but the bald head was pretty distinctive.

"Mhm. Honda's going to be able to get to an even 999, and then he can have a proper girl 1000," the curly haired guy replied.

"I wonder if he'll swoop in and grab Oozora for 1000? She's the cutest girl in the school, and you just know a girl would like the ego boost of him dropping her ex for her," baldy added.

The volleyball player's eyes narrowed. Honda. He'd broken her sister's heart. And her cousin's. The man was a slime.

"Oooh, that'd be harsh. Saotome probably deserves the lesson, though. Takuto'd never genuinely date a half girl like her," curly said with a laugh.

Any further conversation was lost to her as the pair walked out of earshot, but... she'd made her mind up. Saotome needed help. Even if she was being a jerk, no one deserved Honda praying on them.

The girl raced down to the shoe lockers, hoping Hibari hadn't left for the day yet. Or one of their friends. Kuonji had probably already left to his restaurant, and Liu was usually quick to leave as well. (Kuonji Ukyo and Liu Shui being on the short list with Ranma of boys she actually paid any attention to... she wasn't sure why those two were different, but they were.)

"Oozora!" a voice shouted as Hibari and Rie prepared to head home for the day.

Hibari turned, spotting one of the volleyball players. "Hey, what's up?"

"How in the ditch is Saotome? Because I just heard something," the girl started, before running out of breath from her running.

"Only mildly, really? What she did was just enough to start a fight... what did you hear?" Hibari asked.

"Honda. Honda Takuto is going after her. He, uh... he's been trying to date and dump a thousand girls. His count got a half point on it at some point, though... I don't know how, but, apparently he's decided to go after Saotome," the girl explained. "He's a slime, but he's charming. My sister hated him for what he did to my cousin, and he still won her over long enough to break her heart."

"Any idea what he has planned?" Hibari asked.

"I didn't hear that much, sorry," the volleyball player replied.

Hibari nodded. "Guess I'll be calling in family help to find him, then."

"Ooh! Take that!" Ranma said, her face lighting up as she took out another villain on the shooting arcade game.

It was such fast paced fun. She should have come to this place earlier.

"You're a quick learner," Honda said, firing off a few shots of his own.

What he tried to ignore was just how cute Ranma was looking. He wasn't actually being worse that Sanezin here, was he? Falling for that face, while knowing it actually belonged to a guy...

"Aww... he got me. That's a game over," Ranma said, big sad puppy eyes on her face.

"You still got pretty far for your first time," Honda said, all smiles as he felt himself struggling to maintain his cool.

"I hate losin' though," Ranma said, hitting him with gentle eyes on that deceptively soft face.

There was nothing for it, Takuto had to go on the offensive now, to keep control of the situation. Besides, Saotome wasn't the only one with a versatile face.

"Koi Ikeno style," he whispered, using his exceptional control over his facial muscles to shift his face to more closely match the shoujo dreamboats of Ikeno's manga.

Ranma stared at him as he pulled on a smile. Her expression was hard to read, though it seemed mostly curious.

"We could come another time with just the two of us... for more practice. I think you have the potential to get some high scores with a little more experience," he said.

That basically counted as asking her out.

"What's with your face?" Ranma asked, her look of curiosity unchanged.

Honda released the expression, managing not to stumble, if only barely. "N-nothing."

'Right,' he thought to himself, 'Saotome is still kind of a guy inside. Koi Ikeno is too girly...'

"Adachi Mitsuru style," Honda whispered, having his face soften and round out. "So, what did you think about the offer?"

"Is that a medical condition?" Ranma asked, even more confused.

Honda felt a weak groan escape him as he let the technique fall again. Saotome was proving a difficult target, after being so easy to start.

"Hey, where did the other two go? Suzuki and Yamaha?" Ranma said, looking around.

Honda felt wind in his sails again. He still had a chance. Those two were ready to take pictures and get the gossip wheel going from anything vaguely leading. He just had to—

"Get away from her!" Hibari's voice called out.

Ranma spun around to the taller redhead. "There's other people here!"

"Oozora?" Honda said.

"I know you're just trying to toy with her to fix your pick up record, mister 998 and 1/2!" Hibari shouted, pointing an angry finger at Honda. "She's an idiot sometimes, but she doesn't deserve that!"

"998 and 1/2," Ranma muttered, sure she'd heard that number before.

"W-what? No. No... I'm just... that's absurd!" Honda protested.

"Mikado... you're just like him..." Ranma said, her voice cold as she turned to glare at Honda.

"I'm not like Sanezin! I don't force myself on any girls... I simply charm them," Honda protested.

"And then dump them right after, to keep working on your record," Hibari added, her voice cold.

"That... you... I gave them the honour of dating the most popular guy in the—!"

Ranma yanked Honda down to her eye level, glaring at him. "Can your stretchy face recover from a broken nose?"

"Pardon?" Honda asked, staring at Ranma's fist.

"Guess we'll find out," Ranma replied with a smile, before punching Honda square in the face.

She then wiped off her hands, before turning to Hibari. "So, uh... like I said, there were other people here. It wasn't a date..."

"I believe you," Hibari replied, walking over to Ranma. "Trying to track you two down, I got enough stories about how tricky and slippery Honda is. I don't blame you for this."

"So... did you not dump me?" Ranma asked, looking up at Hibari nervously.

"Dump you? Not at all? I was angry, but... I accept that it was a mess on all parts. Mostly your fault, but not totally," Hibari said, before cupping Ranma's cheek in her hand. "Let's kiss and call the fight over?"

"That sounds good," Ranma said, her cheeks hot.

"Can you call me and ambulance too?" Honda asked, from the floor.

Hibari kicked him in the back. "Don't ruin the mood."

She then turned back and kissed Ranma.

"We're going to have to talk about communication after this, though," Hibari said, as she and Ranma began to walk off, hand in hand.

"Yeah... I'm still not great at that," Ranma replied.

Honda lay on the floor a few more minutes, cradling his face. He was starting to seriously wonder what Yamaha and Suzuki were up to when he felt someone picking him up.

"Ah, thank—you're not Suzuki," Honda said, staring into the cold face of Shui.

"It looks like your nose isn't actually broken," Shui said.

"N-no? Oh, thank the kami," Honda said, feeling relief wash over him.

Until Shui punched him in the face.

"Now it is... Ranma is too soft sometimes," Shui said, walking off.